#but also my least wanted episode is pretty much guaranteed

[agnerd-bot]

Good News: Death Battle is back, baby, and they got one hell of a backing from fans now!

Bad News: Ash Vs Yugi is Episode 200.

[stvrpst]

It’s still crazy to me how some people really think Buck actually wanted Tommy’s attention and not Eddies when Buck literally came out of his mouth and admitted to trying to gets Eddies attention before he even lied straight through his teeth claiming he was trying to get Tommy’s.

And then people are like “He wanted both” ??? Look, I’m not gonna even sit here and say that Buck didn’t at least have an ounce of interest in Tommy, because if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have showed up to see Tommy in the first place.

However, it's pretty clear that Buck only ever tried to get close to Eddie during that entire episode. There was not a single instance where Buck attempted to get Tommy's attention. Had he genuinely desired both, he would have exerted himself to get them both, but he did not.

That's the the exact reason why tommy goes "my attention?" At the end of 7x04 because Buck literally was only pursuing for Eddies and even Tommy clocked that himself.

Like, the whole reason why the situation bothered Buck so much was because Tommy had gotten so close and left an impression in Eddie and Christopher’s lives in such a short span of time. So Buck felt fucking threatened because he has never seen anyone be as close to Eddie and Chris besides himself.

And that’s the exact reason why in 7x04, when he goes to vent to Maddie, he is seen grilling the fuck out of Tommy instead of showing genuine interest. If you have a genuine crush, I guarantee you, you don’t go and talk shit about them to your sister💀

“Eddie just met the guy like, two weeks ago, and Christopher thinks he’s so cool”

“try telling Christopher that, he likes Tommy because he does the controls. I was like Chris, it’s not a video game”

“Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think you lie to a child just to ingratiate yourself.”

“Well Chris wouldn’t stop talking about him.”

It amazes me how many people watch that scene and still think Buck really likes Tommy.

I also wanted to bring up the prospect that Tommy may not genuinely be interested in Buck, as evidenced by his lack of interest in him while they are together. If he was, he would have taken action from the start. Tommy did not demonstrate any desire in liking buck or initiating a relationship with Buck at any point in the show but towards the end after Buck claimed he wanted Tommys attention. Which by the way, is a weird way to go about things.

If he wanted to, he would have. Tommy is a pretty confident guy, as the show has already shown, so asking out buck is light work for him, yet he made no attempt to ask Buck out. And take note of the fact that until Buck claimed he was attempting to catch Tommy's attention, Tommy never expressed a liking for Buck or made any moves.

Another thing I've noticed is that Tommy has stated his jealousy and envy of the 118s dynamics at least 2-3 times. If anything, Tommy started something with Buck because being with someone from the 118 would allow him to experience some of the family dynamics there, but I digress.

Returning to my original argument, this conversation between Buck and Maddie reveals in astounding detail why Maddie was taken aback when she learned that Buck was going on a date with Tommy. Maddie surmised that Buck was envious of Tommy rather than the other way around because his entire earlier outburst simply demonstrated his desire for Eddie. That's the reason she goes

"Eddies friend?!" Like, oh. You went on a date with Eddies friend and not Eddie?? you went on a date with the person you were so obviously bothered and threatened by because they were getting too close with Eddie?

Which gets me to my second point: when Maddie says, "Okay. I don't think you are a fraud. I just think you aren't sure about your own feelings yet, and if there's anything you need to tell Eddie, you will, in your own time." I reckon many people failed to take a step back and ask themselves why Buck felt like a fraud. Because, of course, we'd all think of the obvious reasons like 'oh, it's because he acted like an idiot' or 'oh, it's because he lied,' but this is Eddie we're talking about.

Because, in all honesty, Buck is aware that Eddie has no issues with queer people in general. He even had a brief friendship with Josh, who is gay, and is close to Hen, a lesbian. Though a little hesitant, Buck also had no trouble confessing that he liked a guy with Maddie; in fact, after making out with Tommy, he even strolled his ass into a room full of people with soot on his face.

In reality, Buck wasn't really "afraid" of people finding out. But with Eddie, things were very different. When it came to Eddie, he felt like a phony. Tommy was hardly acknowledged at all, and Tommy's feelings over his impetuous response were not even taken into account. Only Eddies.

People will say we "missed the plot" or that we’re "delusional", like no girl, this is the plot😭 The plot is that Buck clearly has feelings for Eddie, and the writers demonstrated this in 7x04 by using Buck's jealousy to highlight it, but buck being buck, he ends up mistaking these feelings for someone else.

They lead us on purpose, but not without providing a few hints for those with media literacy. There's a reason Buck and Tommy's entire buildup revolved around Eddie.

The plot isn't 'well, Buck was envious throughout 7x04, but we didn't know who he was jealous of; turns out he liked Tommy! That's a plot twist! No, Buck was jealous in 7x04, and we know exactly who he was jealous of, but the show purposefully led us astray and had him end up with the opposite person because they're doing the 'I'm in love with my best friend but don't know it' trope for Buck and possibly 'unrequited love but not actually unrequited love' for Eddie in season 8.

[kindestegg]

The plush under Collector's bed: A totally necessary analysis, trust me

So, as a recap of this scene, before King leaves to visit Eda and Lilith, Collector asks King if he could sleep with François that night.

King reminds Collector that only himself and Luz can hold François, and Collector obliges but asks that he at least leave François there to "watch over him", claiming he "doesn't like being alone".

King does so, and Collector seems satisfied. It's very telling of Collector's development that they never touch François after this interaction, showing respect for King's boundaries.

... Except! This sweet little angel is actually a master trickster! A liar and a fiend!

He had a plush under his bed the whole time!!! In fact I'm pretty sure every shot of their little bedroom planet has the underside of Collector's bed obscured UNTIL King starts to leave and we pan to see the beds from an angle which reveals the plush!

You know what this means, right? Collector could have easily pulled his plush from under his bed and cuddled up with that if he hated sleeping alone so much, but he didn't. Why?

Well, I don't think he was lying about being lonely. Loneliness seems to be a prominent common theme for Collector, both declaring his loneliness back at the start of O' Titan, during a vulnerable moment where he didn't expect anyone to hear him, so he'd have no reason to lie there...

And then also having this acknowledged by King in the current episode, who has been living with him for about two months now, so he would know Collector's state of mind better than most here.

So... what gives? Was Collector really only out to force King to give François to him? Why?

Well, my current theory about this is what François means in this scenario: a connection to King. We know François is very important to King and King does not hide this when he expresses to Collector how he won't let them hold him.

To Collector, being able to sleep with François is the ultimate foolproof way to ensure King won't leave them. First, if King eventually lets them hold him, it signifies King would trust them enough with this and hold them to a regard as high as Luz, which we know Collector seems to be jealous of. I... just realized I should probably analyze that too, huh. Well, all in its due time.

And second, even if King won't allow them to hold François, but leaves them close to Collector in their room, that already acts as a guarantee. A guarantee that King will come back for François eventually, that King won't leave them to sleep alone the entire night.

Whatever the case, François is a symbol, a meter to test their closeness for Collector and King, and considering how many times Collector has lost people they considered friends before (whether those were real friends - in the case of the titan babies - or not - in the other collectors and Belos' case -) and have been double crossed by Belos, it's no wonder they have trust issues and want to make sure King does care about keeping them company.

So... that's it, then? He probably threw his original plush under the bed and then lied to King he lost it and is now constantly trying to get King to let him either hold François or at least keep him close to him as a connection between him and King?

Well... yeah, but if you'd allow me, I'd also like to talk a little on the symbology of the plush here. You see, while we can't make out the full of what the plush looks like, it appears to be some sort of canine with pointed ears and a poofy tail. Maybe it could be a titan, even a plush replica of King, but... I don't think so. There seems to be no stitching around the neck to signify it has a skull like titans do.

See, I think this is a fox plush. And why it is important in a metatextual sense that it is a fox requires a look into lots of different possibilities, each enriching the narrative in a different way.

For one, in popular folklore, foxes are seen as tricksters, lying and cheating their way into what's most convenient for them. Villain or hero, the fox is always winning people over through tricks.

This would align with the very nature of the plush being thrown under Collector's bed: it calls back to the fact he's tricking King with this. And yes, while Collector does have his problem with "fibbers", I don't think he's above more harmless tricks, we've seen him joke around with King before, purposefully feigning ignorance to mess with him, and the very nature of how he splattered Belos was through him lying that he wasn't mad. He may dislike it when a major lie is told, but little lies and sarcasm are no stranger to him.

Another possible connotation is the fact that rabbits and foxes are naturally prey and predator. François is a rabbit, Collector's plush is a fox. King, the member of the species that was hunted by the collectors, holds the prey animal, while Collector holds the predator animal...

The position of the plushes is also important here if we go with this interpretation: François is on top of King's bed, indicating he does not conceal he is the prey here and is well aware of this. He says so as much: "this whole time I was scared of making him mad". In general he behaves like a scared animal around Collector, despite their efforts to put them in equal grounds and the fact they have spent so long together and made considerable progress in their friendship.

Collector's fox on the other hand is under their bed, signifying Collector has concealed their fox, or maybe more appropriately, buried and left the fox behind. They may be part of the species that wiped out all the titans, the predators that so mercilessly hunted King's species as prey, but they want no part in this. Their backstory seems to involve wanting to play with titans and denouncing the other collectors after all, likely being bitter at them for ruining everything and hunting their new playmates to near extinction.

Alternative readings also include a few possible pop culture references. A possible one is the prominent role of the Fox in the Little Prince. While Hunter is the one who has been nicknamed "little prince" by Darius, Collector still seems more thematically similar to the character, being a child who came from space:

The similarity also hands itself to the fact King does somewhat resemble a fox with his canine qualities and fluffy tail, and in the story, the Fox was one of the first friends the Little Prince makes on Earth, and the one to teach him how to approach someone who does not trust you yet, to "tame" them.

Yet another possible reference this could be is the Disney movie "The Fox and the Hound":

Which seems like something I should frankly make a whole separate post comparing the eerie similarities it harbors to the current dynamic Collector and King hold. But to summarize, if you don't know the movie, it follows a hunting dog pup and a fox pup that become friends at a young age, and their friendship must overcome advertisities unique to their species.

If this is a reference to this particular movie, this once again has a different reading: Collector is clearly the hunting dog here, not the fox. For him to keep a fox under his bed would signify he wants to keep King close to him, safe under his bed and protected. This could even be a call back to the very last scene the titular fox and hound in the movie share: Copper, the hound, positions himself above the fallen Todd, the fox, protecting him. The plush being under the bed to mirror this would make sense.

Whew! I think that's everything that I had in mind to comment on this particular tiny easter egg. Whatever meaning you take from this about Collector's mysterious plush, I hope I could at least inspire something in you!

[respectthepetty]

Pit Babe Colors Ep. 8

I'm challenging myself with this show and seeing how good my color skills really are, so I'm doing my normal thing of watching it double-speed on mute, but now, the captions are off also. It's just colors and vibes here. Also, I know way more than I intended because of comments and reblogs on previous posts, so I'm in the know now.

Kim looking at Kenta's face right before the elevator closed is the only thing keeping me from losing it. If Kentana doesn't save Kimberly, what is the point of this?! What is the point of Kentana?!

Are y'all a couple now? Y'all are starting to color and outfit coordinate, and it feels very gay.

I don't know what to do with these two.

I'm pretty sure I'm just not seeing pink on Pete, which means he has connections to the red, and Way refuses to stay blue, so I'm sure he is still planning some corrupt red nonsense.

JUST BE BLUE! Just be in love with each other. Accept his love, Waymond!

I never thought I'd write this, but be like Jeffrey, Waymond. Turn blue. Commit to the blue. Fall in love!

Look at him! No matter what connection he has to the red, he is beating the allegations. Peter is a GOOD MAN! If Waymond doesn't fall in love with him, somebody else will. Guaranteed.

Not going to read too much into that red stripe at the top of the room, but this is a red's room. Is this Kimberly's?! Why is there so much blood?!

When you take people's superpowers, yet have no idea how to use the superpowers. Apparently, Babe without superpowers is still better than everyone else. At least Charles is no longer a lying blue.

I think Big Red knows something is different with Babe, and even though Jeffrey still has that damn red bag . . . IS THAT WAYMOND?! No, Waymond, no! Do NOT work with Big Red. You have Peter RIGHT THERE! Quit your bullshit, Waymond!

WTF, Kentana?! If I have to pick between you two, I pick Peter. No contest. Kimberly, Peter, and Alan above everyone else. Kentana, you better stop it! You are still on my shit list!

Hold up! Do you two know each other? Like biblically? What is this tension? What are these looks? Why does this feel very personal? I ain't mad at it, but Kentana still needs to save Kimberly!

Jeffrey, why would you go there in that red and blue flannel shirt?! That won't save you, buddy!

Kentana, the ONLY thing that will redeem you is saving Kimberly. I didn't like Jeffrey, but now he is matching with Alan, so they are in love, and you can't break Alan's heart! You are just fucking up left and right today, and I hope you get punched in the throat before this episode is over.

KIMBERLY IS DYING! And y'all are about to have sex in the blue after tending wounds which is pointless because you have superpowers that will heal you!!!!!! Y'all continue to amaze me by the lack of priorities. Save Kim Possible!

Why is this shot in the mirror? Why is there a barrier between you two? This is odd. More lies?

Who takes a shot like that?! A KILLER! Barbara, get it together! This isn't an episode of Dead Friend Forever, and you are no longer a red.

Everything about this scene is ridiculous. Charles in blue. SONIC in blue. North and Waymond in black. AND EVERYONE IS DRINKING RED SODA! This not looking good for the blues. Whatever they are talking about, the reds already won.

Barbara continues to be touchy-feely with Waymond. Why can't he just let Waymond brood in peace? Barbara knows Waymond loves him, yet gives Waymond no space. Go tend to your boyfriend's fake injuries, Barbara! Waymond is working with Big Red and not falling in love with Peter, yet you have me feeling bad for him, Barbara. I should hate Waymond! BUT I CAN'T BECAUSE YOU WON'T LEAVE HIM BE!

These two have to be sleeping together. Cooking Crush had the Chicken Bite product placement too and Prem and Ten definitely want each other in that show, so North and Sonic have to want each other too, yes? Yes. Now why are they watching Whiny Winifred while flirting IN THE BLUE?! They finally are both wearing blue at the same time. Thank, Baby Jesus.

I was worried seeing Waymond in the red doorway, but he has Charles and Barbara. But they aren't saving Kimberly. Why does nobody care about Kimberly?!

The kid is blue. Is he the insider informant? He is a child!

Why are there so many red kids in the world? Big Red, why do you need an army?! Overthrow your shitty kidnappers with your superpowers, kids! REVOLT! Sí se puede

KIMBERLY!

North and Sonic are going to save Kimberly! They are finally in the blue and saving my favorite red! I never doubted them!

WHAT THE FUCK?! THEY DIDN'T SAVE KIMBERLY?!

Southwest Airlines and Vegas' Hedgehog did NOT save Kimberly! Kentana watched as Kimberly got taken, then had the audacity to have chemistry with Peter. Jeffrey walked right into the reds like that was gonna save him instead of saving Kimberly! Whiny Winifred kicked Kimberly. Waymond is working with Big Red and not saving Kimberly. Charles and Barbara CANNOT prioritize and are talking to a blue kid and giggling at each other instead of rescuing Kimberly.

AND BARBARA IS FIGHTING PETER NEXT WEEK!

These men need to get their shit together! The ONLY things that needed to happened this episode were 1) SAVE KIMBERLY and 2) ACCEPT PETER'S LOVE! Neither happened. Honestly, Kentana and Waymond could die and leave Kimberly and Peter to be the power couple of Alan's company. They both wear too much black, and unlike Barbara, they aren't the title character, so either commit to the blue Waymond or Kentana, or else I'm gonna start thinking y'all are disposable.

[kawaiibunnora]

Top 10 Game Changer Episodes

In lieu of the recent WatchMojo video, Top 10 Best Game Changer Episodes, I feel like making my own top 10 Game Changer eps in spite of them. (fyi I will be grouping any repeating episodes into one unit. Ex: Sam Says, Sam Says 2, and Sam Says 3 would all count for "Sam Says")

10. Bingo The reason this episode makes it into my person top 10 is because of how many times I was caught off guard. The plot twist AFTER the plot twist made this episode such a fun watch. Also I love seeing the cast torture Brennan by making him "defend" Elon Musk /lh

9. Deja vu Everybody do the Wenis! The Wenis is a dance. Everybody is a genius who knows it in advance! This episode has such a great cast and the reoccurring bits were so fun. I loved how they started bribing Brian to stay quiet, and I'm personally just a huge sucker for time loops (one of my favorite games is In Stars and Time)

8. Yes or No Do I even need to explain this one? Just go watch the clip if you dont know why this is here. Look up "Brennan Lee Mulligan monologue" and you'll understand why this episode is in the top 10. The only reason the episode isnt any higher is because the bulk of the episode is pretty forgettable.

7. Second Place Another Brennan monologue!!! Honestly, If Brennan stares into the camera and monologues for a solid minute or two, that episode is guaranteed to be in the top 10, but, what puts this episode above Yes or No is the episode itself. The cast is so full of life and passion, and Brennan's consistent philosophy throughout the whole episode makes it one of the greats.

6. Don't Cry I have been a Dropout member for 2-ish years now. When I first became a member, I binge-watched all of Game Changer. Or at least I thought I did. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I saw someone mention Don't Cry and I had no idea what episode it was. So I went back, watched the episode, and was in tears by the end of it. Not only is the episode a beautiful gesture for an amazing writer and comedian, but every word spoken felt genuine, which made the entire episode so much more impactful.

5. A Game Most Changed Every single Dropout cast member is extremely talented, but not once have I seen an improve show as breathtaking and skillful as A Game Most Changed. The amount of skill and talent that is required to improvise an entire Shakespearean play while being thrown those curveballs- the insane coordination between the three actors, with each setting the others up for points. Despite playing for points, the cast frequently set up the others to succeed, favoring storytelling over winning. Absolutely beautiful.

4. Escape The Backroom Pure, unadulterated entertainment. Watching 3 grown adults go ape shit trying to solve puzzles and escape an escape room while unsubtly threatening their captor. Brennan, Lou, and Siobhan have such good chemistry as a team, leading to some of my all-time favorite Game Changer clips. The creation of an entire story for the escape room was inspired, and Sam's switch at the end was just the cherry on top.

3. Sam Says Whenever I have a friend over and I want to show them one Game Changer episode to represent EVERYTHING that Game Changer can be, I show them Sam Says. Each episode has an amazing cast that bounces off each other, and each episode continues to surprise and delight me. Personally, I think Sam Says 2 is the best, but all 3 are fun, high-energy, and insane. Perfect for comedy television.

2. Survivor The tension. The trust. The drama. The betrayal. And, most importantly, the funnies. These episodes have it all and more! In a game where relationships ARE the game, we, as the audience, get invested in each player. And as Brennan seemingly schemes and plots his way to victory, Lou manages to rival Brennan and best him in a game of trust and loyalty. Survivor truly shows what Game Changer can be, and as we see in later seasons, the show keeps evolving from there.

1. Make Some Noise Season 1, Episode 2. SEASON 1, EPISODE 2. Clipped so much that it got it's own show which is now clipped even more. The reason many people sign up for Dropout (and for good reason), this episode puts 3 of the most talented comedians in a space to just be funny. These episodes not only contain some of the best Game Changer moments, but they contain the best Dropout moments, the best impressions, and the best jokes I've ever heard. It's no wonder that these episodes got spun-off into its own show, which is now one of the primary advertisements for Dropout in the form of YT shorts. Brennan, Zac, and Josh are all so talented in drastically different ways, and by putting all three together, something magical happens. Make Some Noise is the gateway into all of the amazing content on Dropout. It is the best episode of Game Changer without a doubt. Season 1, Episode 2, Game Changer, Dropout.tv.

[petz5]

You’re like the only account that I care about Ranma takes, thoughts on new Ranma anime?

Sorry for responding late but so far I really really like it!! I WAS nervous (and still sorta am) abt the pacing bc like..... How do you take 20 episodes (technically 21 but i didnt count the clip show) and make it 12... but so far it's done a good job of not cutting down anything significant enough to really hinder my enjoyment

I will say I am extremely frustrated w the state of the tv industry as a whole because as gorgeous as the remake is i DO like that the original was allowed to breathe. I know people go "but there was so much filler!!!" but i think its important to remember it was being made concurrently with the manga and you really HAVE to create filler if you catch up... but I also don't dislike filler episodes as a concept nor do i dislike the vast majority of the ranma ones or feel they're wildly ooc 🤷 i don't consider them "noncanon" (outside of the stupid ova where soun has illegitimate kids) i just think of them as events that occur between chapters. Sorry i didn't mean to go on a filler rant THE POINT IS I HATE THE 12 EP SEASON MODEL W ALL MY HEART. It works for short series and it would work okay for longer ones....if and only if there was a guarantee that it would get picked up for several more seasons

My fear is it'll either be a second incomplete anime or get the urusei yatsura allstars treatment of having the middle pretty much gutted just for the sake of being able to reach the end. I don't give a shit about seeing saffron if you aren't going to take the time to make akane's sacrifice really mean anything to the viewer. You know? Part of why it's such an effective gutpunch in the manga is because you're sort of in ranma's shoes- she has been there right from the beginning, you expect her to be present and involved, and you just assume she's always going to be there. When that's ripped away it definitely hurts to see how much it affects ranma, but it's also a loss for the viewer because, love her or hate her, you've spent SO many hours with this character by that point. I worry if you just.... take out huge chunks of the middle it won't have the same impact. I know it's a long series, but idk I kinda think if you don't spend the time then her death is more "oh no :( thats sad" in a way thats still real like mufasa or bambi's mom, but not the same as idk...... jack in titanic?

Also i'm torn on the line from akane in the second ep being changed where she's saying she doesn't want people thinking she's a pervert for being engaged to a girl to "i don't want people thinking i'm a perv who walks in on people when they're taking a bath" like.... obv i'm not mad they're trying to tone down the homophobia, and i don't have any faith a modern audience would understand that she has internalized homophobia she needs to work through- or that people in the 80s/90s were flat out saying aids was divine punishment so you probably didn't wanna advertise that you're lgbt... i totally understand the change and don't have a real problem w it but also i do think having to come to terms w the fact she's attracted to ranma regardless of the curse, if not (at least initially) BECAUSE of it, is a big part of her character development and i'm curious how an akane more relaxed from the start about being wlw is gonna feel

[thebruno65]

Sato defence thread

I know nobody gaf about her, but the few that do despise her ass, so I made up my mind and decided to write a defence post abt her. So, without further ado... Why Sato is a more complex character than you think:

For starters, who in the world is Sato? That's probably a question 90% of all Dangan fans ask when they see me talking about her. So ill give a little background information to inform you/remind you who she is.

Sato is a minor character whom was introduced in Danganronpa 2, Chapter's 2 motive, Twilight Syndrome Murder Case as Girl E. She is known to be friends with Mikan, Hiyoko, Ibuki and most importantly, Mahiru.

But what she is more known for is being the culprit of Natsumi Kuzuryu's murder, the little sister of Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. And its what most people point to when criticizing Sato and her behaviour towards her, most of the time saying Sato was fully in the wrong.

But I'm here to prove, or at least try to, that while murder wasn't the way to handle it, Sato had all the right to behave the way she did towards her. But before I start, I just want to clarify that I don't hate Natsumi, but it doesn't excuse her behaviour towards Sato and Mahiru.

When people blame Sato, they usually go ahead and say that her motive is weak as hell, saying that she is a generic, heartless yandere whose only reasoning is "I love Mahiru!" But that just isn't true, she has much more complexity and issues that people dismiss:

People have kind of forgotten that, despite Natsumi's and Hajime's conversation that showed a weaker side of her character, she was still not an angel. Its shown in the anime that she constantly bullied both Sato and Mahiru, and this is very clearly backed up in episode 3 where she intentionally provokes Sato to start a fight over with her. I mean, there is no way she didn't intend that.

Plus, this bullying can be dated to as far back as the photography club, I'm guessing that's like, around a year or more. So it isn't a recent thing she could just ´ignore´ like most people say, because I'm genuinely sick and tired of people saying that, like, if they met before hopes peak, then I can guarantee you that she has probably tried that before and ultimately fail. Either because Natsumi doesn't stop herself, or she genuinely cant mentally drown her our.

EVEN THEN, this is still not everything she has done, because there is still one more, pretty major thing Natsumi has done constantly to both, threatening to kill them. Ok, before anyone goes ahead and says something like "But those threats are empty! She didn't actually mean it, she is just mad". Put yourself in Sato's shoes first:

Imagine the daughter of one of, if not the biggest Yakuza clan in Japan says she will kill you to your face. I don't know about you all but id be shitting my pants and leave the country if I ever heard that. Not to mention she is also threating my best friend?

And its not like she just based it off of a simple word, she quite literally has physical evidence to prove that Natsumi, in her eyes, does not fuck around. I'm talking about the scar she gave her back in the photography club. After Natsumi and Sato had a fight, its said some men went ahead and scarred her arm.

In general the scar serves as a great way to remind Sato that "if you don't protect Mahiru, they might do something to her, they have done it to you before"

(BONUS)

Please note that, while I may have come as extremely harsh and rude on Natsumi's behalf, this is not a hate post. She is in fact a great character too, and I highly recommend checking this thread that explores her character in great detail. https://x.com/CHISALOVEBOT/status/1735610111245095022

Now, another reason as to how people misinterpret Sato and her motive is her relationship with Mahiru, her best friend. Now I'm not going to argue that she wasn't the reason to why Sato did what she did, in fact, Id argue its her biggest and most important reason for her. But what I'm trying to argue here is that it wasn't (just) because of "love"

I don't know about you all, but i find it very clear to me that Sato is not mentally stable, and this is most prominently shown when she shares her scenes with Mahiru, and how being with her has affected her psychologically.

lets talk about their first scene together, in which sato says, and I quote: "Mahiru, you're the hope of everyone in the Photography Club." At first glance, this sentence seems completely normal, but if you analyse just a little bit more, you will realize something odd... who the fuck unironically says this?

Even if its true that they are an Ultimate, one of the best at what they do. Going to extremes to say "hope" is... a bit overdue, especially speaking for everyone in the photography club. As seeing how the other reserve course students reacted when Mahiru came over, (though I do have to add it was because of Natsumi's comment) were not too sure if she truly meant everyone, or even anyone at all.

But, we can still tie this to her mentality of Mahiru, how? Well, when I said who unironically thinks this, there was an answer, and that my friends, is Nagito Komaeda.

Yes, i know, i seem crazy comparing Nagito and Sato, but think about it, they both have this support over hope, with both reminding the other ultimates that they are the "hope" of the world. Don't believe me? then look at this line said by Sato only a few seconds after the first one:

So in the end, she is not only referring to the photography club, she is also referring to the entire world. Now you could argue that she means this logically as once she graduates, her photos would probably spread around the world. But the fact that this comes right after her line about "hope" may have it signify otherwise.

Though this isn't the only comparison you can actually make between the two, as I've recently discovered that their views on the reserve course and talent are pretty darn similar too! Of course they show this in different ways.

What do I mean by this? We all know Nagito's certain distain for non-talented people right? and how only those can be born with a talent? What if i told you, this also is the case for Sato, only of course, to a lesser extent.

During the fight with Natsumi, Sato states that since the main course didn't scout her, she should give up since she had no talent and that she should "know her place" You guys see what I'm talking about?

Sato saying to know her place pretty much means she knows her role in the overall school of the academy, she is only there to support the Ultimates, be a stepping stone.

(BONUS)

Ok but like I generally find the idea of a conversation between Nagito and Sato be pretty hilarious, with Nagito going over the usual reserve shit and Sato's like "Ok that was pretty rude, you could have toned it down a little... But you're not wrong either."

Sato's sprites:

Anyways, back to my point. But then, why does Sato act like this, Is there a reason for it? And that's where good ol' Hopes Peak Academy comes in:

Its no secret that Hopes Peak does not care for its reserve course students, seeing as they just swooped both Natsu's and Sato's deaths under the rug.

Another thing that they like to do is remind them of this nonstop, where as would be with Main Course students like Nagito 24/7, Juzo when Hajime confronts him. Or other, more indirect forms.

These guys clearly think of talent and hope being the priority, then the rest after it. And Sato is a victim of this type of mentality, she puts down Natsumi and her wish constantly because she's thinking the way hopes peak wants everyone else to think. She praises Mahiru and calls her "her hope" because she is meant to be a stepping stone for the Main Course.

Now here comes a little bit of theorizing, but it will make sense trust me: This mentality has been driven so far into her brain, that it seems like a lot of the actions she takes, she always excuses it as "what Mahiru wants"

for example, every time she's arguing Natsumi, she always goes ahead and claims if she does something to Mahiru, she will not let her get away with it. Notice how its always Mahiru and not her? She quite literally cares for Mahiru's safety over her own.

(BONUS)

Can I just please gush about the genius way they made the Natsumi and Sato conflict work so well with their beliefs? Like they are quite literally the humanization of what the one of them thinks of the other:

Natsumi hates people that seem to have given up and not try to join the Main Course. Sato is someone who represents that by putting down others for them to 'give up'.

Sato hates people that don't know their place and think they can do more than what they can chew. Natsumi is someone who is openly stating to trying to join the main course as the 'Ultimate Little sister'

But, you may be wondering, "well if she cares so much about Mahiru, then what about the others? She never mentions Mikan, Hiyoko nor Ibuki in any way"

And here's were her motive becomes more complex, as I personally believe that her personality around Mahiru is more than just a Nagito complex. I'm going to throw the idea that Mahiru is pretty much the only thing from keeping Sato from quite literally existing. Yeah, depressing, right? But hear me out:

When I tell you that her first anime appearance wasn't when she slammed Hajime's desk, then what do you think it is? I bet almost none of you would have said this scene right here.

FYI, this scene plays right before Natsumi talks to Hajime about always looking out of the Main Course. (Special Thanks to @kousaka-erena for telling me abt this scene btw)

But, how does this scene signify my extremely absurd comment? You may ask. Well, lets take away our attention from Sato for a bit to look at the rest of the reserve students around her.

Notice how all of them seem to be having a conversation, or at least be with another student? Even though we cant confirm that all of these people are friends, per say. We can confirm that they are at least able to talk with one another.

Now look back at Sato, none of them are even looking at her direction, they don't even care about her. Not to mention that this is not a one off thing, she is never even seen interacting with any of the reserve course students aside from the other two.

In fact, I'm going to throw around the idea that the reserve course might actually hate her, or at least have some sort of distain. Probably from the fact that she's friends with an Ultimate.

The students are probably jealous by the fact she is able to talk to someone from the Main course. So in return, they don't talk to her out of jealousy, which in turn probably makes her time away from Mahiru extremely difficult for her.

The worst thing is that I would have glossed over this if it weren't for the fact she was in THAT position. While you could argue they did this with a writing perspective, so that they don't reveal her face until their reveal.

But if it really were the case, then why did they opt to specifically do it like this? Wouldn't it have been actually easier to just animate her with her back towards the screen talking to other students? So I believe they they had a little more in mind when drawing her here.

But, what about her other Main Course friends, Wouldn't you also count them in? Here's the thing though, apart from the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case game, do we ever see them interact? I mean, none of the 3 never seemed to really go ahead and visit her when they had the chance.

Sure, they are still seen together in the game, but how close are they really to each other? To be honest, Mikan, Hiyoko, Ibuki and Sato only seem to be friends because of proximity with Mahiru more than anything else. So I doubt Sato would have strong feelings for them either.

Like sure, she probably still respects them because they are still ultimates and all, and I'm sure she still considers them closer than anyone else, but just not by much.

And I think this loneliness also overall leaks its way into her treatment of Mahiru, with the way she feels the need to protect her at all costs, to praising her to none ends, to even hiding vital information from her:

When I'm talking about the ladder, I'm referring to Sato's and Mahiru's final scene together, which is infamously know as the retcon of Mahiru's involvement in TSMC, while I personally don't mind the retcon as much as others, Its still a blow to Mahiru's character and what she stands for in DR2.

But, lets put that aside, as were not here to talk about that. Lets instead talk about how this scene, despite not being great for Mahiru's character, is brilliant for Sato and how much she is willing to go to protect her.

So, we know how in the original TSMC, Sato immediately confesses her crime to Mahiru after being confronted. And while I can still see this in character, I much prefer her other interpretation.

In were, instead of confessing at all, she constantly hides the fact she murdered Natsumi and even reminds her how 'horrible' she was to the both of them.

Now, why do I generally find this better than the original? Because it shows you how fare she is willing to go to protect her, going as far as to hide the truth from her. The reason she does this is so that she doesn't get herself involved in it.

She even shows her the scar the Yakuza left her in her arm to gain pity and convince her to just leave the case alone. That's because she needs to protect her, just like she said before this scene.

Now of course you can always argue that Mahiru already knew about this and she just didn't tell her, but what's important is Sato herself couldn't know this, so she tried her best to not get her involved.

So, she is willing to go as far as to do this, for what? Well, I believe this goes back to the fact that Mahiru is her only true friend. She acts overprotective and obsessive over her because she doesn't want to lose her, she is afraid to.

As I've said before, Mahiru is the only thing she has left, its her only hope. So in return, she will do anything it takes for her to keep Mahiru by her side.

Now obviously, you can also deduce it to being, love, or something else. In fact, its been heavily implied that Sato is a Lesbian with the way she talks to Mahiru sometimes. But i personally found it to be this as there's just much more evidence supporting it.

(BONUS)

One thing that I also want to mention, but didn't find anywhere to fit this in, is when right after Mahiru leaves, her expression changes from a happy smile to a frown.

Which makes me thing she has also hidden her own emotions from her, maybe to not have her worry about her as she was probably told from Mahiru how her life at home is. Or it could also be that she hates lying to her. It can be anything really.

But, while this may be a lot, there is still one last push to try and convince you that she isn't your typical Cold, Heartless yandere you see the fandom depict her as: And that is she never intended to hurt Natsumi in the first place.

"But, you were literally just talking about her motives, what do you mean she didn't intend to kill her?" While yes, I did go ahead and explain her motives, I never said outright that it was to justify the death of Natsu.

In the motive, Sato says to Mahiru that she tried talking it out with Natsumi, but after another death threat from her yet again, Sato succumbed to her anger, and in a FIT OF RAGE, she strangled Natsumi to unconsciousness.

After calming down, she realised what she has done. In a state of fear and panic of the possibility of Natsumi waking up and having her send men to kill her and possibly do something to Mahiru, she kills her.

When people blame Sato, they usually say something along the lines of "omg! Sato is so dumb, why did she do that to Natsumi? Doesn't she know that the Yakuza would kill her?" And I can bet 10 bucks that these are the same guys that don't play the games.

Sato quite literally states she wasn't in her right mind when she strangled Natsumi. She was overcome by built up anger from years of bullying from her. Having those feelings closed up for so long will only make them come back stronger.

To be honest, its kind of weird to see this as Mondo Owada had a similar outcome with his murder, as he killed Chihiro in a state of anger. But one of them is regarded as sympathetic and the other a demon.

Of course its not the same, as Sato crime has two main differences that separate her from Mondo's crime. The first one being that Sato didn't kill her victim in her fit of rage, it was after.

And yeah, Sato killed her in her state of panic, which is actually pretty similar to both Sayaka Maizono's and Leon Kuwata's motive, both being scared and in a panic that they didn't think rationally and did some dumb moves.

I can see Sato in the same light as the other two, as the three of them were put in a situation where if they don't do something, a worse thing could happen to them. So thinking fast, they resorted to murder.

And the second reason, is that Mondo showed remorse for his actions, while Sato didn't... Or is at least what you'd expect from the outside. Because in my opinion, she is remorseful about her actions, she just doesn't show them.

A great example of this is the scene right after Mahiru leaves, in which Hajime confronts Sato about Natsumi. She starts of smug and states that she probably killed herself. Bur after Hajime states that she hadn't given up, her expression changes to an odd one you wouldn't expect.

Her face turn blue and she starts to state that he is wrong while she grabs and shakes her head in what seems to be in distress. So answer me this, would a person who is cold and heartless react like this?

Sure, you could argue that she is acting like this because she got caught and knows what's gonna happen to her. But I don't think that's the case, as we have seen her breaking down in that fashion before.

I'm referring to day 4, in which we see when Fuyuhiko kills Sato. She starts screaming for forgiveness while running away. And I don't know how to explain it or if its just me, but they feel different for some reason.

Like the one we see in Danganronpa 3 has more depth and a different reason for it. What do I mean by this? Well, this is purely a theory, but when sato started saying "You're wrong" she wasn't talking to Hajime, she was talking to herself.

She is trying to convince herself that she was right on killing Natsumi, trying to convince herself she did the right thing. That she's protecting Mahiru, but deep down, she probably regrets taking the life of another.

So in conclusion, Sato is more than just a 2-dimensional character with a complex motive. But since she isn't given a lot of screen time, she sadly gets thrown aside by the fandom. Which is something that I wish to change.

And that's everything I have that I can convince you all. If your opinion has changed about her, for the better or for the worse, then I'm glad I was able to change it!

If you guys have any criticism, like I yap too much or my points may not make sense, feel free to speak out and tell me, its my first time doing one of these and I'm open to change.

And if you liked my post, then feel free to follow me! I wont promise to make threads like these constantly, but I talk about Danganronpa a lot!

Uhh anyways, Sato is peak, the student council is peak, sato should join the student council and kiss every women in there, platonically and romantically. (Kisato my beloved)

[hikennosabo]

#tristampparty day 2, episode 2: the running man

day 2 of @tristampparty!! i have less to say about this episode than the first one so hopefully this will be a shorter post than yesterday LOL

iirc this is 98 knives's seiyuu on the radio, right?!!! i am only about halfway through my jp 98 watch and can't recognize him by ear (yet) but i think it's very neat that the original seiyuus have cameos :')

also vash keeping the photo with him What If I Ate Rocks

he is such a kicked puppy of a man

why does roberto say revenge. what does he mean. what does he know. what has he figured out from knowing vash for maybe like a few hours. or is he just throwing that out there without realizing how close he is to the truth. partially, anyway. he didn't guess the savior complex part.

i'm not entirely sure what meryl means by honor...? but money is a pretty normal reason to want a plant, as we've seen and as we'll continue to see.

i like how meryl has a fear of bugs... i can relate lol. i think this character trait comes from the manga when she was kidnapped by zazie and was grossed out? i think here it also serves to reinforce her being sheltered, still unfamiliar with the world at large since worms are everywhere--WAIT HOLD ON.

PAUSE. ZOOM. ENHANCE.

RAI-DEI SPOTTED?!?!??!?! this rewatch is becoming an I Spy game with the wanted posters, jfc.

man i'm so glad i finally downloaded tristamp so i can appreciate the visuals without the crunchiness of streaming video... i can't do the animation justice with just screenshots but i love watching vash scamper around like a... i don't know. he scampers like a cockroach in 98, but this is giving a different vibe. like a... something. like a creature.

i also want to take a second to appreciate how gorgeous the backgrounds are, like,

i loooove the backgrounds, it looks like... maybe a mix of markers and colored pencil... i love the detail and the colors are so pleasing. this is such a gorgeous anime to look at, i don't know how anyone could possibly say it looks bad without them just blindly hating it because it's 3dcg. god i'm getting so distracted looking at the backgrounds that i'm missing the action AND the subtitles LOL

wasn't there a post somewhere that actually calculated how much a bullet is worth based on this information. i don't remember what conclusion it came to. but i'm thinking either food is expensive (tbh, likely) or bullets are inexpensive and vash is just poor (also likely). also it's funny that the dub changed this to donuts. ...where are the donuts at in tristamp anyway...

roberto lmao 😭😭😭😭😭 i guess that's one way to guarantee it doesn't spill

roberto up until this point has acted like meryl is dragging him along unwillingly, but here he's the one telling meryl to get in the car so they can get a move on, lol. yeah yeah we all already know he's actually a softie and that he really cares underneath his aloof demeanor.

which brings us to this scene... i don't want to say that he has vash "all figured out" because obviously he doesn't, but he's got SOME of vash figured out at least. definitely more than meryl atp. he knows vash is running from knives... i wonder how this conversation would have gone if they weren't interrupted.

yeah i don't really have that much to say about this ep, relatively speaking... i don't have any deep thoughts about the nebraskas, they're just comic relief villains anyway, i don't care about them that much, even though tristamp kind of tries to make us care a little bit by the end of this episode...

next episode is gonna be a doozy though. ohohohohohoho.

[lover-of-mine]

Hi! This is long, but just some Inside Baseball-y theorizing/thoughts on LFJ... I don't have any insider info or anything lol but I know a bit about how the business side of the industry works.

So, he would have been brought back as either a recurring guest star or a recurring co-star (co-stars are usually minor characters who basically serve to push other characters to where they need to be, which is probably what he was in S2. Guest stars have a bigger role and are usually a little more central to the story they're being used in). The distinction is a little fluid and can be up for negotiation by your agent (guest stars get paid a higher rate), but I think Tommy lands pretty solidly into recurring guest category for S7, so that's my guess as to what he was contracted as. (The step above that but before main cast is series regular, which is where Karen and Ravi etc fall)

From what we now know, his original arc was only supposed to be 4 episodes, and he was there for Eddie. Then Natalia's actress became unavailable (I think she was doing a play?) and their original plan sort of fell apart, because if Eddie had his gay awakening in 704 and Buck was single (since Natalia wouldn't be there) the rest of whatever they had planned for the season would stop making sense... hence the switch, and imo you can see some traces of the original plan in the version that eventually made it to air.

And then they were renewed for S8-9, which realistically would have been very much up in the air at the time the season was originally being written. They'd just come off the strikes, they were on a new network, they had a shortened season, they were planning a BIG swing by bringing at least one of their long-term characters out of the closet, so I don't think it's a coincidence that the renewal news came in the wake of those eps airing. I think the network was probably waiting to see how they'd do in the ratings once that happened before they decided how to move forward.

So once they were renewed, they decided to slow down the pace of whatever story they had planned since they now had more or less guaranteed time to do it. The back half of S7 was a hasty rewrite and suffered for it – I think that's been made obvious in interviews and just from what you see on-screen lmao

LFJ was probably asked back for a handful of 7B scenes because of the rewrites – most of his "presence" was done without him actually needing to be on-screen. A couple references to him here and there and one or two scenes in an episode, and that was kind of all they needed story-wise to keep Buck busy while Eddie started down his spiral. I don't think his "popularity" or "fanbase" or whatever had much at all to do with him staying longer. BIG fandom pushes can sometimes sway things, but I think people generally overestimate their influence on these kinds of decisions. It ultimately comes down to money and viewership and story needs, and it made sense for him to stay longer than expected, so he stayed.

When it stops making story or business sense to keep him, he'll be gone, which might have already happened if they think he's caused more trouble than he's worth. There's also the possibility that he'll be promoted to a main on SWAT or get booked for something else and become unavailable just like Natalia's actress did. That happens super frequently.

Or maybe not! If they have a plan for the wrap-up of that storyline that requires him to be physically present, or even if they want to keep him around off and on all next season, then he'll probably be back for a couple episodes, but they're definitely not going to be writing full independent storylines for him. If you pay attention, he (and Buck!) stopped being the focus of any of the plotlines as soon as the bulk of that story was resolved (Buck realizing he's bi and coming out to the rest of the team). Whatever their plan, his function is/was to push Buck to where he needs to be for whatever's next in his story, because Buck is the one who's part of the main cast. He's the one who gets storylines written about him.

I agree with a lot of this, really. I say his approval made him stay, but I kinda mean in the sense that Buck being bi was well received and unlike other love interests, he was well received, so keeping him in the background wasn't creating problems as they set up whatever it was they wanted to do with season 8 using the remainder of s7 after the renewal. I don't think his purpose on the narrative is completely done yet, so I do think he could be back to further Buck in whatever way they need him to, because like you said, he exists to push Buck somewhere and they stopped using Buck on his own after he came out and that's definitely not something that's gonna transfer into s8, so whatever plan they have for Buck is probably going to use him. I think the question is if the chaos that's been going on lately makes it worth it to drag out his presence or if they'll choose to get over with it quickly because while he still makes sense narratively, he might be stopping making sense from a business perspective. But we don't know, this is all speculation at this point. There's a chance he's already written off and there's a chance they are planning on keeping him as a presence for longer. We'll have to wait and see I guess. But this is a very detailed view, thank you for sharing it.

[burr-ell]

@meiloorun-notthefruit replied to your post “yeah, hot take, if you haven't watched the first...”:

Wait if anybody wants to respond to this i have never watched c1 and i am having the time of my life with this week's episode, what is an example of the group actually mad? im curious

​Sorry it took me a minute to respond to this! There's a pretty good writeup of the issue on r/HobbyDrama (though it does have one or two minor errors), but I'll give you the short(er) answer.

So originally, Vox Machina actually had eight members: Percy, Grog, Scanlan, Pike, Vax, Vex, Keyleth, and Tiberius Stormwind, a dragonborn sorcerer played by Orion Acaba, another voice actor who'd done work on video games and anime with the rest of the cast. For a variety of reasons, Orion rather quickly developed a nasty case of Main Character Syndrome, and frequently did things that genuinely angered the cast. A couple notable examples:

When the party fought and defeated K'Varn, a beholder, in 1x11, Orion had Tiberius exit the fight for a plan to rally a group of mindflayers to their cause (which failed), and eventually returned, landed the final killing blow on K'Varn, and generally acted like an ass about it, leading to Marisha demanding to know why he was being so rude and unpleasant.

In Vasselheim in 1x16, in order to escape from a trap, Vex had to fire a nearly-impossible shot and rolled a 35, meaning it was guaranteed to happen and was going to be an incredible moment for her, and Orion had Tiberius insert himself to "help" using Telekinesis. The entire cast yelled at him indiscriminately for it, and while Matt was able to thread the needle live on stream, the atmosphere was generally very tense.

The nadir of them all, 1x27. This one's a twofer:

I don't know if you've watched TLOVM, but the Briarwood arc had just begun at this point, and all the party really knew about the Briarwoods was that at least one of them was a vampire. (I can't remember if they knew Delilah was a human necromancer by this point.) So Tiberius goes on a HUGE shopping trip to buy—among other things—every mirror he can in Emon, and the conclusion most people have drawn, quite reasonably, is that he intended to use them to make a massive light array to just drench Whitestone in sunlight and fry all the vampires. He also tries to write his family in his hometown of Draconia to bring the Draconian army into Whitestone to take care of things for them. Both of those things are frustrating to watch in the moment, but especially so when you realize that they're attempts to essentially speedrun Percy's entire arc and make Tiberius the hero. This and the other things he was doing already took up a ton of solo time, and Travis (known hater of shopping) eventually snapped "how about you get nothing else, and we move on?"

Then, the grandaddy of them all: while the party was discussing what to do and Vex was formulating a plan, Orion announced out of bumfuck nowhere that "Tiberius is getting a half-chub". Every single person at the table was appalled, and you can feel the change in the air if you watch the scene. Travis and Taliesin are both visibly furious; Sam, Marisha, Liam, and Matt are completely taken aback; and Laura looks incredibly uncomfortable. Tiberius had never established this aspect of his character at all the way Scanlan did, and after everything else there was very little patience anyone was going to grant him.

These are just isolated moments; Orion had overall behaved rather unpleasantly on-air and did a lot of metagaming (the reason he left the K'Varn fight was that he knew what beholders were and thought Matt was out to get him), and Matt once explicitly said after Orion left that he used to cheat on his dice rolls. Going from episode 27 to 28 is such a palpable shift in tone and atmosphere, and it's unsurprising that two episodes later they would announce Orion's permanent departure.

So yeah—if you've watched those scenes, you have a much better metric for what the cast's genuine anger is actually like.

[all-seeing-ifer]

Audio Drama Recs for Buffyverse Fans

Hey there, dear listeners! Are you a Buffy fan who’s been listening to Slayers and it’s got you interested in learning more about this whole audio drama malarkey? Are you a Buffy fan who’s not been listening to Slayers but are always interested in recommendations for new media to check out? Are you maybe even a Buffy fan who’s already listened to some audio dramas but want some ideas for others to check out? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then this is the list for you!

The world of audio drama is a weird and wonderful place where niche independent art can flourish. If you look close enough, there’s something there for everyone! It’s my hope that the release of Slayers can help bring this wonderful medium to more people’s attention, so I’ve compiled a list of a bunch of different audio dramas that I think will appeal to Buffy fans, whether that’s because they have a similar genre, similar tone, similar characters, or something else entirely. 

No matter what it is you like about Buffy, I can almost guarantee there’s an audio drama out there where you can also find those same qualities. And the best part? All of the following audio dramas are absolutely free. An important part of the culture that’s emerged around indie audio dramas is that these shows are pretty much always free to listen to - funded instead by ads and patreon support. So you can just hop on to spotify, apple podcasts, pocket casts, or your other platform of choice, and get some beautiful narratives written by (and I do sincerely believe this) some of the most talented and visionary creative voices of the past couple decades beamed directly into your ears for the low low price of nothing at all. You literally have nothing to lose except time!

So without further ado, on to the recommendations:

Wolf 359 

Listen if you like: Episodic/monster-of-the-week storytelling with an overarching plot, a tone that mixes comedy and drama, pastiches of popular genres (with heart), anti-authoritarian themes, stories about bands of deeply flawed misfits with interpersonal issues

Plot summary: Life's not easy for Doug Eiffel, the communications officer for the U.S.S. Hephaestus Research Station, currently on Day 448 of its orbit around red dwarf star Wolf 359. The Hephaestus is an odd place, and life in extremely isolated, zero gravity conditions has a way of doing funny things to people's minds. Even the simplest of tasks can turn into a gargantuan struggle, and the most ordinary-seeming things have a way of turning into anything but that.

Status: Finished

Episode count: 61 + minisodes and specials

Average episode length: 20-40 minutes

Why you should listen: I’m gonna say something that may be mildly controversial and say that Wolf 359 comes closer to capturing the Buffyverse’s tone and spirit than just about any other piece of media. A child of that mostly unfortunate period of time when every nerd creator on the planet wanted to imitate Joss Whedon’s style and it really does show (not least in the multiple direct references to Buffy the show makes). But while basically every other product of this writing style (including Whedon’s own later work) fell flat on its face into insincerity, Wolf, in a truly cosmically unlikely moment of lightning actually striking twice, just fucking nails it. It’s at once an ironic pastiche of science fiction serials from the golden age of radio while also being a serious and dramatic science fiction serial in its own right, and strikes the perfect balance between the two. While it starts out as more of a workplace comedy set in space, as the show goes on and the characters learn more about the company that sent them on their mission, the tone becomes increasingly serious and dramatic, without ever feeling like too much tonal whiplash. When it’s funny, it’s really funny, and when it’s serious and emotional, it hits depths of devastation few other shows can. While it may be science fiction and not fantasy, it shares the Buffyverse’s anti-authoritarian themes, as well as those shows’ large casts of flawed characters whose problems come just as much from interpersonal drama as from the speculative fiction elements of the story. If you ask me, it’s one of the greatest stories the 2010s ever gave us. But don’t just take my word for it, go check it out for yourself! Go meet Doug Eiffel, Renee Minkowski, Dr Alexander Hilbert, Hera, and a bunch more characters I can’t talk about without getting into spoilers. You can thank me later.

Ars Paradoxica

Listen if you like: A tone that mixes comedy and drama, anti-authoritarian themes, female-led shows, stories about bands of deeply flawed misfits with interpersonal issues

Plot summary: When an experiment in a time much like our own goes horribly awry, Dr. Sally Grissom finds herself stranded in the past and entrenched in the activities of a clandestine branch of the US government. Grissom and her team quickly learn that there's no safety net when toying with the fundamental logic of the universe.

Status: Finished

Episode count: 36 + specials

Average episode length: 20-40 minutes

Why you should listen: Ok, let’s say Wolf 359 appeals to you, but you’d prefer your semi-ironic semi-serious speculative fiction dramedy show with anti-authoritarian themes to have a female lead. I mean I’d still recommend listening to Wolf because while Eiffel may be the protagonist you still get to meet Renee Minkowski and Hera and [OTHER CHARACTERS REDACTED], but you could also try out Ars Paradoxica! Another child of the Whedon-influenced era that produced Wolf 359 with a similarly Whedon-influenced tone, I think Ars is a lot messier, tone-wise, but it’s worth working through that. While it starts off quite goofy and irreverent, as the show goes on it really matures and grows into itself and becomes something very special. It becomes the rare time travel story that actually engages in a meaningful way with the political dimension of the time period its characters’ travel to. It’s about the paranoia of the final days of WWII and beginning of the Cold War, it’s about the bigotries that shaped mid-20th-century society, it’s about war and scientific ethics and the desire for progress and what we’re willing to sacrifice for that progress. But despite its often dark themes, it’s also not as heavy as I’m making it sound, with all of its lofty ideas and high concept science fiction being anchored by a cast of highly flawed yet endearing characters, including the inimitable Dr Sally Grissom herself. Compared to other 2010s audio dramas, it’s fallen into obscurity into recent years, and I think it’s about time we bring it back into the light!

The Silt Verses 

Listen if you like: Horror/fantasy, episodic/monster of the week storytelling with an overarching plot, anti-authoritarian themes, female-led shows

Plot summary: Carpenter and Faulkner, two worshippers of an outlawed god, travel up the length of their deity’s great black river, searching for holy revelations. As their pilgrimage lengthens and the river’s mysteries deepen, the two acolytes find themselves under threat from a police manhunt, but also come into conflict with the weirder gods that have flourished in these forgotten rural territories.

Status: Ongoing (on its final season)

Episode count: 33+

Average episode length: 40-60 minutes

Why you should listen: It’s my favourite audio drama, hands down. More than that, it’s one of my favourite pieces of art, ever. Do you have even a passing interest in horror as a genre? If you’re a Buffyverse fan, then I assume the answer is ‘yes’. In which case, you should listen to TSV. Of all the horror podcasts I’ve listened to, I think TSV is far and away the most genuinely terrifying (I’d definitely recommend checking out the content warnings before listening) as well as having the most unique, well-thought-out, and generally interesting horror concepts and worldbuilding. It also plays with classic horror tropes in a way that feels vaguely reminiscent of BtVS at times, but its tone and atmosphere and writing style is all entirely its own. Despite this far darker tone and approach to horror, it also shares many of the Buffyverse’s themes. It’s a story about broken systems: living in them, dying in them, striking back against them, trying to fix them, burning them to the ground, all explored through a horror/fantasy lens. If you like how the Buffyverse explores its anti-authoritarian themes, you will probably also enjoy TSV’s approach. If you love the various complex fucked up little guys that make up the casts of the Buffyverse shows, then you’ll probably also love the various complex fucked up little guys that make up the cast of TSV, especially Sister Carpenter, the female lead of the show as well as one of the few characters in existence whose greatness rivals Buffy herself in my mind. And if you love the Buffyverse’s outlandish and often formally-inventive monster-of-the-week style episodes, then TSV’s own experimentations and propensity for bizarre fantasy concepts will likely also appeal to you. Really there’s very little else I can say without you experiencing the show for yourself. Do you like good things? Do you like things that are good? Go listen to TSV. Again, you can thank me later.

The Magnus Archives

Listen if you like: Horror/fantasy, episodic/monster of the week storytelling with an overarching plot, anti-authoritarian themes, stories about bands of deeply flawed misfits with interpersonal issues, fighting the apocalypse

Plot summary: A weekly horror fiction podcast examining what lurks in the archives of the Magnus Institute, an organisation dedicated to researching the esoteric and the weird. Join Jonathan Sims as he explores the archive, but be warned, as he looks into its depths something starts to look back… 

Status: Finished

Episode count: 200

Average episode length: 30 minutes

Why you should listen: One of the more well-known audio drama podcasts, and definitely the most well-known of the recent audio dramas! A lot darker, more depressing, and heavier on the horror than the Buffyverse shows, but there’s still a lot that Buffyverse fans will enjoy, from the anti-authoritarian themes to the multiple apocalypses the characters face. While TMA starts off as an anthology series, with each episode being a self-contained horror story, as the show goes on recurring characters start to appear and an overarching storyline begins to emerge. The later seasons of the show really display a similar ethos to the Buffyverse shows when it comes to taking their characters to very dark places, and the way that the show plays with horror tropes will likely also appeal to Buffy fans! Prepare yourself for some truly creepy storytelling and truly heartbreaking emotional moments and give it a listen.

Janus Descending 

Listen if you like: Horror, female-led shows

Status: Finished (sequel series ongoing)

Episode count: 13

Average episode length: 15-20 minutes

Plot summary: This limited series, science fiction/horror audio drama podcast follows the arrival of two xenoarcheologists on a small world orbiting a binary star. But what starts off as an expedition to survey the planet and the remains of a lost alien civilization, turns into a monstrous game of cat and mouse, as the two scientists are left to face the creatures that killed the planet in the first place.

Why you should listen: While it’s probably the least similar to the Buffyverse shows of any of my recommendations, I think Janus is still worth looking into simply because it’s a really great “starter podcast” for those who’ve never got into audio dramas before. It’s a limited series of just 13 episodes, each episode is only around 15-20 minutes long, and it uses the audio format in a really unique and interesting way. While it does now have a sequel series called Descendants, the original show works very well as a standalone narrative. The horror and tension and tragedy of the story is really well done, and despite how relatively short it is you still get to feel very close to the two protagonists. Another really underappreciated show that deserves more love.

Old Gods of Appalachia 

Listen if you like: Horror/fantasy, female-led shows, anti-authoritarian themes

Plot summary: A horror-anthology podcast set in the shadows of an Alternate Appalachia, a place where digging too deep into the mines was just the first mistake.

Status: Ongoing

Episode count: 54+ (not including specials)

Average episode length: 30-40 minutes

Why you should listen: Another dark and gorgeously atmospheric horror podcast (you may be starting to sense a theme here), this one based around an alternate history version of Appalachia where eldritch gods and monsters inhabit the mountains and hills. Much like TMA, Old Gods is primarily an anthology series, consisting of a wide variety of different horror stories set in the same world. These stories range from one-off episodes to season-long arcs, and cover a broad spectrum of horror sub-genres. While I do find it a little hard at times to follow all the different connections between the different stories and arcs, I think it’s still absolutely worth listening to for its tone, storytelling, social commentary (plenty of “fuck capitalism” stories here), and well-written and complex female characters. Definitely a must-listen for all the horror/fantasy fans out there (and I know for a fact that’s a lot of you).

Hi Nay 

Listen if you like: Horror/fantasy, female-led shows, stories about bands of deeply flawed misfits with interpersonal issues, episodic/monster of the week storytelling with an overarching plot

Status: Ongoing

Episode count: 32+

Average episode length: 30-60 minutes (not including specials and minisodes)

Plot summary: A supernatural horror fictional podcast about Filipina immigrant Mari Datuin, whose babaylan (shaman) family background accidentally gets her involved in stopping dangerous supernatural events in Toronto. 

Why you should listen: A very fun urban fantasy monster-of-the-week style show that pulls from both classic horror tropes and Filipino folklore. While I haven’t listened to much of this one yet, it’s a really engaging and often emotional listen with a very fun framing device that uses the audio medium in a clever way!

Of course, this is only a small fraction of the wealth of audio drama podcasts out there. I'm only one guy and I can't listen to all of them! If any of you have any recommendations for other audio dramas you think Buffy fans will enjoy, feel free to add them on! And if you're interested and have any questions feel free to send me a message - I always love talkin' audio dramas!

[jakesuit0]

Too Young Review

“Too Young” finally follows up on the newly deaged Princess Bubblegum, something fans were dying to see after no glimpses of her in the past four episodes. This would have been a more thematically appropriate season premiere, but I do like the building anticipation for the followup. The question of how this new dynamic would alter the status quo of the series going forward hung over our heads. Turns out: not at all. At least not in an obvious way.

Even putting aside the romance aspect, it’s just great to see Finn finally hanging out with someone his own age, something we never get enough of. He’s always hanging out with his older brother, and his other best friends are hundreds of years older than him. As Finn says at the beginning, he can just be himself. I like Finn stepping out to get moral support from Jake. His encouragement of Finn’s pursuit of Bubblegum is finally appropriate! Finn is a little nervous, this is probably his first ever date. But, he is overall pretty comfortable, as there’s still a strong familiarity between Finn and PB. There’s also no pussyfooting around between the two, they are very upfront with their feelings. PB already knows how Finn feels, and she basically tells Finn that he’s hot after he drinks her serum. He admits to not bathing, so it’s a good thing that BMO gets Finn on a bathing schedule by “Holly Jolly Secrets Part 1.” It’s interesting that Finn first asks if she’s trying to make herself 18 again. Part of him thinks this is all too good to be true.  

Not really sure how much I need to introduce him, but Lemongrab! He’s probably the tenth most prominent character in the series, and one of the most well known characters, period. He wasn’t given much of a personality in the outline. Tom Herpich and especially Jesse Monyihan, the storyboarders for this episode, really created Lemongrab. They succeeded in making such a distinct character, and with Justin Roiland bringing him to life with some of the best voice acting of the series so far, he was basically guaranteed to become a recurring character. (I know there’s a massive elephant in the room that I’m avoiding, but it’s just not pertinent to this review. It will be addressed when I get to “Prismo the Wishmaster” and morals will be condemned!) Lemongrab’s very screamy, but he does it in such an alien way that he’s not annoying. He’s introduced with his iconic “unacceptable” catchphrase, which is pretty great and has been memed to death. He was originally going to be PB’s uncle (I assume it would have straight up been Gumbald, albeit in a very different incarnation, since he was mentioned in “Susan Strong”). I’m very glad they didn’t go that direction. They were dangerously close to ruining much of the direction they’ll take PB’s character in. 

Lemongrab is now technically the rightful ruler due to PB’s deaging. I assume Bubblegum created Lemongrab with the intention of wanting an heir, and that stuck in Candy Kingdom law. Similarly to my take on “Hot Diggity Doom”, I don’t think Princess Bubblegum actually cares about the legal technicality, especially since she started creating the kingdom when she was a kid. She just wanted to delay the inevitable. She might also have more respect for the rules as a less jaded thirteen year old. 

The flashback establishes that she created Lemongrab. It’s the first hint that PB created all the candy people, but it could still just be assumed that Lemongrab was an exception. The implications of PB creating life aren’t explored here, but this establishes a trait for her that will be explored a ton. We don’t know exactly when she created him, but it’s implied that it happened a long time ago, possibly hundreds of years ago. My theory is it happened before the flashbacks seen in “The Vault”. PB was used to making candy people dumb on purpose, probably straight up using dum dum juice. It’d make sense to not want her heir to be incompetent, so she’d need a different formula, especially since she isn’t using parts of the mother gum like she did with Gumbald, Lolly, and Chicle. This caused the experiment to “go wrong”. The reason I think it’s before “The Vault”, is because we see a young Peppermint Butler in it, who I don’t think was created with dum dum juice. She must have perfected the formula by then. Pep wasn’t intended to be an heir, as she’s still trying in “Goliad”, but she’ll eventually realize he fits the bill. Calling Lemongrab her “first” experiment to go wrong, is a straight up continuity error due to the Uncle Gumbald backstory. It’s also hard to believe that she didn’t have any other experiments go wrong. I think my theory could recontextualize the line to mean it’s the first one of her experiments with her new formula to go wrong, but it’s a little handwavey. As if this flashback didn’t already have enough interesting implications, we see that PB still has her memories. This raises the question of if she still has the same experiences, is her relationship with Finn still problematic? I argue that it isn’t. She behaves like a child in her new state. Her brain, just like the rest of her body, has less candy biomass, and is the brain of a child. She’s seeing her memories through the lens of a kid. 

Finn and Bonnie try to solve their problems like kids would for once, with pranks. Their relationship is so pure and adorable. Bonnie cuddling up to Finn on the castle roof is one of the most wholesome moments ever in Adventure Time and Finn looks so incredibly happy. It really captures the innocence of a young child’s first romance, and it stands apart from the awkwardness that defines his relationship with Flame Princess and the maturity that comes with his dynamic with Huntress Wizard. At the same time, Lemongrab gets more defined as he tries to laugh and have fun with the pranks after Peppermint Butler’s explanation. He wants to fit in with others, but he just doesn’t see the world in a neurotypical way, so it comes off as forced and awkward, like his bobbing head laughter.

Peppermint Butler tells Lemongrab that food comes from Mars. It’s a weird lore detail that isn’t ever explained, but is referenced again. It’d make sense for a world of talking animals and talking food to get food from an outside source, but there’s plenty of examples of them eating food from Ooo. I’ll assume that industrialized food comes from Mars, and this is considered more civilized. Lemongrab eating the spiced food is a great sequence, and causes him too much pain for him to just laugh off.

Princess Bubblegum finally decides it's time to stop delaying what she knows is inevitable: becoming 18 again. Finn’s upset, but has the ability to recognize the greater good enough to swallow those feelings. This whole experience was more of a well needed break for PB, than a true commitment to a new permanent identity, just like a later arc she’ll have. But unlike later, she doesn’t change the way she conducts her life through learning from this ordeal. Many fans don’t think this episode works with PB’s portrayal in the rest of the series, but I disagree. She sacrifices her happiness for her people, which will be explored as a character flaw later down the line that ends up backfiring for her kingdom anyway. She views having fun as something mainly for children, and work as something that must consume adults. There is no middle ground for her. The pain this causes PB just makes her double down on work as a distraction. Some of that analysis is based on future episodes, but a lot of it can be taken away from just “Too Young”. It’s great to finally get an episode that focuses on fleshing out Princess Bubblegum’s deeper feelings and motivations. It’s really the only episode in the first three seasons with that accomplishment. 

Princess Bubblegum says she needs her lab equipment to engineer more candy flesh, an even bigger hint that she created the candy people. I love the scene of her citizens giving PB parts of themselves. They recognize how selfless Bubblegum is, and sacrifice pieces of themselves like she does for them. Finn uses the power of love to catalyze the re-aging process. He gets to return Princess Bubblegum’s favor in “Mortal Folly” with the like-like sweater! It’s cheesy but it’s such a perfect resolution. Princess Bubblegum’s goodbye to Finn is heartbreaking, and it’s really tragic, especially after seeing how happy they were together. They hug and Finn has his first kiss. It’s a really special moment, and it really should be his only kiss with Princess Bubblegum. Fuck you “Wizard Battle” for taking away a little bit of what makes this moment so special and tragic. 

Bubblegum turns back and is pretty cold to Finn, but I love the contrast of her just saying “‘scuse me Finn” and how much taller she is than Finn. She’s also cold to Lemongrab, calling him a butt, which is even more problematic given the fact she’s responsible for him. The next moment is soooo important. Finn comes on to PB, which I can’t even condemn him for this time given the circumstances, and PB immediately shuts him down. She takes the crush slightly more seriously than just innocent puppy love. I love how awkward Finn asking if she wants to hug more is, really highlighting how this relationship does not work with this age difference. She responds by not humoring him finally, saying “that was like 5 years ago” and “you really gotta move on.” People have criticized Bubblegum for being too cold to Finn. I do understand calling those comments, and her joking about the situation, insensitive. It comes across to Finn like the relationship they had means nothing to her now. I really don’t think it meant nothing to her, as we’ll see by her subtle changes in behavior and a line she has in “Burning Low.”  But, I’m sure it was hurtful and confusing for Finn. I still can’t really blame PB for how she responded. She definitely could have been more sensitive about it, while still clearly turning him down. But, it’s an awkward situation. She was still trying to be kind about it, even if the joking manner came off as hurtful, and she’s very clear in her rejection which is good. She still doesn’t know the true extent of Finn’s feelings.

Season two’s cliffhanger being immediately reversed in one episode is a controversial decision. It’s the first example of one of the biggest criticisms leveled against the series, not committing to interesting status quo changes. Turning Bonnie back to 18 is a decision I 100% support. Yes, it’s sad how much of a more entertaining character young PB is compared to the regular state of her character so far. But, essentially replacing the most boring character of the main cast with an entirely different character would feel like such a lame solution to a problem the series has. Working on making her a more engaging character is the correct path. The path they take Bubblegum on is my favorite aspect of the series, so I’m glad this didn’t stick. It’s just unfortunate that it takes another season for that to happen. It makes reversing back to the status quo more questionable. Also, we can’t lose Hynden Walch! To be fair, restoring the status quo after only one episode is the aspect of this that’s more contentious. I wouldn’t have been opposed to seeing young PB in a few more episodes, but I don’t really see what more could have been done. I think “Too Young” fully explores everything interesting that can come out of this plotline: her relationship with Finn and how Princess Bubblegum acts differently at this age. This also isn’t entirely a reset. Not only does this episode color Princess Bubblegum’s character moving forward, it also sets a clear new dynamic for Finn and Bubblegum. She stops humoring his advancements (except for “Wizard Battle”, but again, fuck that episode). It’s the first of many times “everything stays, but it still changes” is applicable. We’ll see how long that ends up being a good excuse moving forward though. 

Finn calls Jake and he gives Finn some pretty bad advice if you take it as him still telling Finn to keep pursuing PB! To be fair, he doesn’t yet know that Bubblegum is an adult again. But Finn tells him that he got dumped. You could also interpret Jake’s advice as being persistent in finding love in general, not necessarily referring to Bubblegum specifically. His speech was intended to be important and to foreshadow the rest of the series, but I’m not sure if this really panned out. He does defeat a demon lord (whether it refers to Hunson, Ke-Oth, The Lich, or evil in general). Finn definitely warps through several worlds (“Puhoy”, “Crossover”, “Beyond the Grotto”, etc). Walking up the wizard steps could foreshadow Huntress Wizard, even though it’s unclear if they ever get in a committed relationship. The magic key and water world don’t really come to pass, unless you wanna say “President Porpoise is Missing!” I’m probably taking it too literally. I think it’s true meaning is to just be persistent in finding love despite all the obstacles. I think that’s what Jake’s means, so I like the speech. The episode ends with Finn looking at Bubblegum up above. It seems like Finn takes it as advice to keep pursuing PB specifically, as we see in upcoming episodes. A lot of fans took it this way, thinking Finn will just have to wait until he becomes 18 to get with PB. With him aging throughout the series, that does seem like a plausible endgame. But there’s obviously problematic implications with that. The series ends up going in a different direction and doesn’t make romance a central part of Finn’s final arc, so this speech really doesn’t end up feeling as important as it was set out to be. 

This is a really iconic episode with a super memorable story and introduction of a major character, and it’s one of my favorites so far. It’s essentially a what if scenario, the one time we see what Finn and PB could be like as a couple. The one time Finn gets to live out his greatest desire. I’m not a Fubblegum shipper, but I’m glad the shippers get this episode. Shipping them outside this episode is weird, but I’m fully on board with their relationship here. I guess I’ll end with some controversy. You can’t tell me Princess Bubblegum didn’t have real feelings for Finn in this one. I totally interpret her as bi just because of this episode. 

Grade: A

[azumasoroshi]

guess who just watched summertime rendering (it's really good)

guys what the FUCK

(spoilery-review stuff will be below the cut but tldr: summertime rendering is really good, subverted a lot of my expectations, gorgeous animation, keeps you on your toes and has smart characters and good writing, just try not to cringe too hard at some of the haha boobs/haha panties jokes i swear there's not too many)

okay funny story. i got interested in this anime literally yesterday because one of my favorite channels was analyzing its ending song by chance

and i was like oh it's like anohana but a murder mystery? interesting premise. doesn't necessarily guarantee that it's good, the animation looks pretty at least, but it's 25 episodes and my attention span kinda sucks...

and i see the main girl in a swimsuit and im like alright. the second there's a really weird zoom on her chest im out

(my live thought process pictured below)

and the first shot or so was of the swimsuit girl (ushio) without any weird zooms so i was like okay hey we're in the clear so far

AND THEN

one minute ten seconds. dawg. that actually has to be a record of some sort

and i was 🤏this close to dropping the anime but i really wanted to see the dark horrifying stuff so i continued anyway

like. maybe that's a one off joke. maybe they wont do it again and that was just to get weirdos to be like AYYY and keep watching. maybe there is hope

there was no hope.

but i hung on anyway because right after that was the OP and it looked really interesting mostly because there were no anime visuals at all until the very end

which was. shinpei being a little bit silly. little but quirky. vibing persona 3 style baby baby baby baby baby baby baby

so yeah i decided to keep watching until the end of the first episode despite my apprehension because i just. wanted to see the dark shit go down. uaghhhhhh

and i kept watching EVEN THROUGH the clear insinuation that the mc's adopted sister was in love with him and that the mc was in love with his other adopted sister and the police officer was looking at porn in public and then FINALLY

FINALLY

(major + ending spoilers start here)

they killed my favorite character.

and then they killed the younger sister and then they killed the MAIN CHARACTER AND I WAS LIKE DAWGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

like i was expecting it to be dark but i didnt expect them all to straight up die on screen with blood splatters n everything :sob: wasnt expecting the time loop either

like. you gon have this gorgeous animation just to make the characters' deaths that much more brutal. holy fuck

i realized the other anime this reminded me of. this anime is a anohana x kagerou project crossover. thats fuckin crazy i kinda dig it

people also compare it to re:zero which is fair cuz it has the time travel, the unexpected brutality, the short haired girl who gets rejected in favor of the long haired girl (lmao) i just like kagerou project more

it somehow didnt connect the first time that it wasn't mio and i was like huh i wonder why they suddenly skipped time

and then when this scene rolled around for the second time i literally like. it hit me so fast and i was like FUCK. i was like genuinely terrified help

and then she started stabbing the ever loving shit out of totsumura and i was like oh okay! guess i dont have to wait in suspense for what she'll do at the very least

and then she stabbed shinpei in the throat and i was like OH OKAY

that scene also terrified me cuz like the phone call happening while the killer is nearby is a classic horror trope but like. i dont watch horror usually. that's my worst nightmare

it was on his third death that shinpei really started to shine for me as a protagonist because like. he's smart. notably so! it was really nice because the classic horror starts to fade away at this point and everything becomes a giant chess match

fair enough though cuz bro was like "LMAO NAH I REFUSE TO DIE AGAIN THAT SHIT PAINFUL AS FUCK" (and then repeatedly died a bunch more anyways)

it's interesting that his whole "take a step back" thing is like. a trauma response too. we love dissociation representation lmfao

shinpei was also really quick to adapt to everything and it took a LOT of shit going down to make him finally lose his composure, but he gets back in it and doesnt waste time and it was really refreshing because yknow anime (and the horror genre in general) with its overdramatic clueless protagonists

and also!!

i immediately pegged sou as the loud dumbass yosuke/ryuji type (i love them and their depth, im talking about surface level) best friend who wingmans for shinpei and immediately gets sus of shinpei and gets killed first n shit

but that was my bad like damn sou was a really good character

to be fair this was his first introduction

and the line "I should tell Sou everything" with a shot of the sky is REALLY FUCKING OMINOUS, so i feel like that was a bit of a bait and switch on the author's part lmfao

i stopped taking screenshots around this point so ill just talk about a bunch of parts that stood out to me pff

HIZURU MINAKATA MY BELOVEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

she's so autistic and so smart and so just. god. i love her

AND RYUUNOSUKE IS BABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

i literally wanted to cry seeing him in the ending like dawggggggg he's SO cute id marry him no questions asked

he and hizuru were my favorites along with nezu because badass old man SLAYS

i also surprisingly really liked ushio lmao i thought she'd be like the usual manic pixie dream girl and then just based on her being in a swimsuit but like. she was honestly a joy as a character lmfao

like. her being the biggest powerhouse next to hizuru? did not see that coming, we love a girlboss!! and she's also smart and forward-thinking despite the airheaded vibes so like damn. good character! i really liked what little we got to see of the real ushio interacting with her shadow too, it was a nice bit of character building + it was funny lmao

mio was the only character other than shide that i just straight up did not like lmfaosgkjhsjg the whole "im in love with my stepbrother" was just. fuckin. weird to me from the start and you have no idea how fucking relieved i was that shinpei didn't accept her confession or get with her at the end

of course it's like. not any better that he got with his other stepsister. but like mio was more annoying so it's fine (😭)

she ended up being a damsel in distress who didnt really do anything up until the school fight where she still didnt do much, and with how much ushio emphasized "protect mio" you'd think she' have some sort of plot relevance but nope she just. thought about her brother a lot and confessed after 20 episodes and got rejected and cried

it's like all the buildup to her confession was PURELY to buildup for the ACTUAL confession which was shinpei telling her that he was in love with ushio

which is lame

like jesus her shadow had more plot relevance than her. i literally liked her shadow more than her like ????????

tokiko was a good character though i liked the "i didnt dirty my hands for this" foreshadowing and also her being a lesbian was an unexpected surprise that i liked lmfao she's a fuckin real one for still encouraging mio to be with shinpei despite being madly in love with mio. what the hell was that "i want her to see all of me" line like girl????

shide was a good smart villain, he kinda started getting cheesy typical anime villain by the end but by that point the anime was pretty firmly in the action/strategy genre and relying a lot less on the horror/mystery part so it was alright

i did love the talk he and shinpei had about video games and the FF7 namedrop was hilarious lmfao

it was cool how they had the callback to him being a video game nerd during the first fireworks festival with that 2d 3d king thing

absolutely despise him for what he did to hiruko though like. ew.

i didnt really get why hiruko deadass reverted into this weird lookin baby thing at the end but like haise was cute i liked her

didnt understand how they literally changed history either but i guess the magic eyes are like "fuck time lmao all my homies hate time" so oh well, i guess it works

the ending was really a full on "everybody lives and is happy" type deal but like. i didnt even mind man i was literally ecstatic seeing hizuru's boobs again like holy shit. you know you're watching a weird ass anime when you start crying at the fucking fanservice scenes like ohhhh my god

and like goddammit they deserve happiness

although. i was a bit pissed that they brought ushio back to life. like yeah she deserved to be brought back and yeah i do love her but rip the themes of grief and regret i guess

the show was never really about grief so i get why she was brought back but like ueeeuueueuueuee the whole "i don't want to do anything i'll regret again (including leaving ushio before we had the chance to say goodbye) so i have to keep moving forward" was really good character stuff and hrekjajsghjhsg i guess it paid off at the end???

whatever ill take getting hizuru and ryuunosuke back no matter the narrative costs

anyway yeah really good anime, definitely exceeded my expectations (which were pretty low to be fair though), i did watch all 25 episodes within 24 hours so i might be a little insane

[crystalelemental]

"karnilla74: If anything, the Clefable thing makes Lillie be the one who comes across a childish. Like, why was she against it evolving? It's not even hers."

So! I talked to my wife about this, and everything I'm about to say is from her. But I think that's really it. It's not entirely that Lusamine is a different character that's bothersome. It's how that impacts Lillie.

Anime Lillie is delightful and I love her. Her big hangup is she can't touch Pokemon, due to a trauma she can't remember. Faba opened an Ultra Wormhole to bring out a beast for Lusamine to see (without her orders), and the Nihilego that came through grabbed Lillie and tried to take her into the wormhole. Silvally saved her, but the entire experience got blocked out and she's left with a fear of contact from Pokemon. Good stuff! That's actually pretty interesting.

Her relationship with Lusamine, however, is obnoxious. Because it's exactly what it sounds like: it paints Lillie as actually being childish.

The Clefairy thing is up for interpretation. Lusamine says "I was the one raising it," but it's not entirely clear if it's hers or just the family Pokemon. Lillie has it in their old photo, so it might be like a pet dog and like...okay you can't evolve the family dog but like trading it for a different breed you liked better that the kids didn't. That kind of neglect. But the rest? Lusamine will excitedly proclaim how proud she is of her baby girl, and Lillie gets huffy because "Mom, you're embarrassing me, I'm not a child!" Lusamine gets pulled into business calls, and Lillie snaps that Lusamine must not care about her, which is understandable from the child's perspective but also the plot of like every family-focused movie from the 90s.

But the way the anime frames things does tend to point to Lillie being in the wrong, or at least being over-dramatic about it. It at least never invalidates her feelings on the matter, but it sure doesn't take them seriously. Like, the episode with the Ditto? Lillie's getting irritated with her mom for not spending time with them herself and being busy with work, as literally everyone around her is like "Wow Lillie, your mom is so cool," and ending on this kind of knowing look like "See? Isn't she being a good mom still? Aren't you being too harsh?" That is a huge 180 from the games' presentation of Lillie.

To make matters worse, the callouts that are referenced in that other post? Don't matter. I haven't reached the episode, but we know Lillie's going to have her callout toward Lusamine when they get back to Ultra Space. Guaranteed. And it won't have a fraction of the weight of the callout in the games, because Lillie has been doing this the entire time. As much as the anime keeps trying to tell Lillie it's her responsibility to talk to her mom about how she's feeling, going so far as to even have Burnet pass on that advice, she already does. Lillie has been telling her mother how she feels constantly. I don't like being treated like a kid, I don't like that you're spending all your time working. It's not point for point in those words, but Lillie is very clear even as she's snappy about it. Don't treat me like a kid and call me your baby in front of my friends. Don't bother calling me if you're going to work the whole time instead of talk. Lillie is very clear, but the anime wants to treat it like this is just missed communication because Lillie hasn't made herself known. And it's...jarring.

(my words now) Because it all comes back to making Lusamine more palatable. That's all this is about. A bunch of dudebros got really excited about her design being conventionally pretty, and when she was shown to just be intense and abuse with little redeeming about her, got mad she wasn't their waifu. So you get USUM turning down the evil and pivoting more directly into "grieving widower trying to protect her kids," and the anime going for quirky playful childish Lusamine whose flaws are so tame it's literally the plot of every show and movie for kids that tries to show a strained parent/child dynamic. It's the most flaccid, easily-digestible interpretation you can provide. It risks nothing, and as a result, says nothing. But also has the audacity to present this in a way where Lillie's...kinda just in the wrong. And literally everyone knows it. Because even children are aware that work is a priority, and that not having money means things get worse. Lillie's not unaware of this either. If pressed, she gives the usual "I know she's really busy and her work is important, I just wish" etc etc. She knows. And it's presented that way because anything more extreme makes Lusamine unlikable, or at least un-waifuable. And from the marketing perspective, that's just as bad.

I bitch about USUM every time it comes up, but I can't deny its success at roping that demographic in. People really do just want to be presented with a lady character that's, at worst, misdirected. Anything beyond that is bad writing and she's just horrible for its own sake, no need to delve into this any further no sir. It's just a shame that writers so rarely present us with well-written and dynamic female characters, but at least we have a few goods ones in these completely generic, likeable girls whose worst flaw is being slightly misguided or too immature (This is sarcasm, I hate fandom).

[phantom-mizero]

Let me first explain my reasoning for each of them and why I personally think they could end up dead either in the first season finale or later. Valentino in episode 2 is ready to march to the hotel with nothing but some regular guns (as far as we know) and try to kill everyone who would get in his way to get Angel Dust back. He only stopped because Vox held him back from doing that. Charlie actually meets Valentino in episode 4 where he, at first, acts like the biggest creep to her and mistreats Angel which actually gets her to transform into her more demonic form. Valentino is the second person that made Charlie this mad and he just acts smug about it Episode 6 only makes it more widely known to others how shitty he is as a boss and that you should stay far, far away from him.

Vox fought Alastor once before and in an older picture of him and Valentino we can see that the TV he has as a head was an older model once, which means that demons can “update” their designs slightly if their body was wounded enough/torn apart, but not killed by an angelic weapon. He admonished Valentino to not get involved with Lucifer’s daughter; to not bring down her and especially her father’s rage on them for hurting someone she cares about or hurting the literal princess of hell in the crossfire, but, and this is, especially after episode 6, a big but he is willing to broadcast one of his Alastor diss tracks he worked on to all of Hell who has a TV. You could say Alastor swung back, but after seeing how much effort he puts into a song if he truly hates someone he wants to hurt emotionally and the very low effort he put in to put Vox in his place it’s truly night and day. Vox directly stating to a news reporter that his company would work on security technology against angels is also a ballsy move, especially if he just got the idea. He has no idea if it would work or how to even kill them. He doesn’t even have a way to test it like he can test other inventions till the next extermination date arrives.

Velvette compared to her male compatriots may seems rather tame, but her one point is only reinforcing the others behavior and making it even more obvious. I can only point out how she didn’t gather any favor with the other Overlords at their meeting, dissed pretty much everyone there, but specifically Zestial, the oldest Overlord that still exists after Alastor brutally murdered pretty much every other one once he manifested in hell. I saw some speculation that Zestial’s business has something to do with information and intelligence gathering, which is highly supported by the episode he’s in. So when he sings “We can’t act without more intelligence”, he is giving Velvette a fairly specific warning that she and the Vee’s are going to die if they are not careful and think they are powerful enough that they would never get toppled. Carmilla is also enforcing that when she sings “You and the Vees are inane and uninformed. Smug wannabees who don’t heed when you’ve been warned.” Carmilla is literally giving her the more explicit version to what Zestial only alluded to, to try and make her see how it could ruin them if they continue on their path.

The Vees are Overlords sure, but they are far from being the strongest or the most well informed to make the best decisions. Vox get’s their company to produce anti-angel tech with no guarantee that it could work, the Vees found the head of an angel so they know they can be hurt and killed and Velvette has the strong suspicion that Carmilla killed the angel. In other words I strongly suspect they are going to try and fight the angels on the next extermination day to make a power grab like Hell has never seen before.

[the-bejeesus]

People need to stop blaming the fact that One Piece isn't nearly as popular in the US as other long running shows like Dragon Ball Z and Naruto on the 4KidsTV dub. Yes the 4KidsTV dub was bad, yes it made it look like a show for little kids. But it aired for just 3 years, and wasn't even viewed by that many people. After all, it wasn't popular. It'd be a setback for sure, but over 16 years later, there's no way this is still the root cause, when shows like My Hero Academia can skyrocket in popularity in a fraction of the time. The newer quality dub is the only dub that's been marketed for a decade and a half, with episodes in sub on Crunchyroll on the day of airing.

The fault isn't the show being too long or the animation or the pacing or any of that. These are problems that every other country has to overcome in selling One Piece. The fault is in Crunchyroll's marketing. While some people point out that "Film Red ads were at Times Square" or "They're showing Episode 1000 at the expo!" there's not much Crunchyroll actually does to encourage new audience members. Yes, the dub is caught up more or less, adapting the most current arc. But that's only if you're buying them on Microsoft Store for $30 for 12 episodes. If that sounds like a scam to you, you have to wait a couple of weeks for it to show up on FUNimation or Crunchyroll, the niche streaming services for dedicated anime fans. If you don't want to subscribe to tons of streaming services and just want to use the most popular ones, it's on Netflix too, but only up to Enies Lobby, it doesn't even cover the first 500 episodes of a 1000+ episode show. A bit odd for a platform that is trying to hype up their live action adaptation of the series, but streaming licenses can be tricky and expensive, at least they have the show at all, as it wasn't even on Netflix in the US for a long time. Hulu fairs a bit better with 457 episodes, though dub is the only option (this was NOT how hulu was with One Piece just 6 years ago, btw. It changes all the time how much sub or dub they have). Don't even get me started on Amazon Prime. It's not even about the $2 per episode, the navigation is horrific. I couldn't even tell you what episodes they have. There's like 3 Season 10s and a Season 11, and all of them have the most random ass selection of episodes. Like straight up, it needs fixed cause idk what the hell's going on. Even if $2/episode was a reasonable price, I'm too scared to buy it. I'm afraid it's not gonna even be the episodes I ordered. If you'd rather just catch the latest episodes on TV, they're on Toonami, the channel that only airs from midnight to 3am. A pretty late schedule for normal people, and even if you can catch them, they're nearly 350 episodes behind there. It actually would have been even more behind, as it was cancelled for quite awhile. But to make up for lost time, they skipped 134 episodes. Those unaired episodes are some of the most iconic, high-rated, and important story arcs of the entire series. And don't expect to catch re-airings, this ain't DBZ Kai on NickToons. You can also collect the series on DVD/BD. But that's gonna cost you $44 for 12 episodes. And don't expect to pick it up at a Wal-Mart or Target. Maybe a Best Buy if you live somewhere busy, but even that's not guaranteed. 9 times out of 10 you gotta deliberately buy that online. Might as well buy two shelves from amazon while you're at it because that my friend is 64 DVD sized boxes you're going to be purchasing, assuming you're buying the Voyage sets. With the Collection sets you can collect the series in just 32 DVD sized boxes, because the Collection sets are literally two Voyage sets for the price of one.

Compare this to Dragon Ball Z. People my age grew up catching episodes frequently on NickToons or Toonami. Many I know started in their teens watching Dragon Ball Super on Hulu. You can catch the whole series dubbed and subbed on Crunchyroll. If you wanted to own Dragon Ball Z, you can get the Orange Brick DVDs, the Dragon Box DVDs, the DBZ Kai DVDs, the Blu-Rays, the Level Sets (jk they discontinued), the DBZ Kai Blu-Rays, the 30th Anniversary Blu-Rays, the steelbook Blu-Rays. Wal-Mart has Blu-Ray Orange Brick sets where you can buy 3 seasons for $30 dollars, that's 1/3rd of the show for the price of 12 niche anime episodes. You can also buy the manga by the volume, by the box set, in a big-print omnibus set, (partially) in a full color set, or online. And while games like Dragon Ball Z Kakarot are still getting fresh dubs, high-budget One Piece games like One Piece Odyssey or One Piece World Seeker are Japanese subbed only, with not so much as an English dub update in sight. Most Dragon Ball movies are available in dub, and even come in 2 or 4-movie Blu-Ray bundles. One Piece only has 6 of their 14 movies dubbed, with only 6 TV Specials dubbed as well.

My point is that the most approachable way to get into One Piece is the same way it was 16 years ago; piracy. It's not kaizoku-fansubs or kissmanga like it was back in the day, but things haven't changed much. Most fans ik don't catch the latest 12 dubbed episodes on FUNimation, they watch them on 9anime. They don't purchase 4 box sets of manga that are all nearly worth $200, they see fanscans of the colored manga on mangasee. With this kind of fanbase, One Piece is always going to stay within the "Film Red grosses $12M at US box office" range of popularity. To get to the "Dragon Ball Super: Heroes grosses $38M at box office" ball-park, you gotta reach out to the audiences who just want to watch some TV and don't want to have to do some digging. Even the 4KidsTV dub knew this. It wasn't very popular, but by airing at day time and having plenty of commercials, and just being on a channel kids tune into, it would at least catch the accidental attention of people every now and then. Sometimes I have to wonder if Crunchyroll even wants to push One Piece as a flagship series, or if it'd rather just be known for more trending anime like Chainsaw Man and Demon Slayer.